Meat from Plants?

Greg Fox

A worldwide crusade is building to find an alternative to animal protein as food. Proponents of a natural lifestyle regularly join with animal and environmental activists to encourage healthier, plant-based diets. The argument is that eating plants is not only good for you, it’s good for the planet, too.

Research from prominent organizations, including the Worldwatch Institute (worldwatch.org), reveals that cows, pigs and chickens raised for food consume a significant amount of water, fuel and other natural resources that could be used in more beneficial ways. Furthermore, livestock account for more than half of all the greenhouse gas emissions in the world, making a substantial contribution to climate change. This reality has attracted the attention of environmental and health-conscious entrepreneurs and investors, including Bill Gates, all interested in finding a way to wean the world off animal protein by producing real meat from plants – no animals needed.

Several plant¿based meat manufacturers have sprung up in the last few years. Turtle Island Foods is the maker of Tofurky brand meat substitutes. Impossible Foods, founded by Stanford University biologist Patrick Brown, is developing a ‘plant-based meat’ that sizzles, smells, tastes and even bleeds like an animal beef burger.

The industry leader seems to be Beyond Meat. In 2009, the founder of Beyond Meat, Ethan Brown, discovered that Professor Fu-hung Hsieh of the University of Missouri had invented a revolutionary plant-to-meat process. The procedure uses a blender to mix the ingredients into an ordinary twin¿screw extruder. Brown licensed the system and set up shop in El Segundo, California. Beyond Meat won’t reveal its proprietary manufacturing process, except to say it is a combination of chemistry, cooking and gentle pressure.

The company dismisses the idea that Beyond Meat is processed Frankenfood. Tim Geistlinger, Beyond Meat research and development vice president, says ingredients are all natural with no GMOs. Speaking to the Institute of Food Technologists, Geistlinger pointed out that animal meat and plant meat have similar compositions. “They’re all constructed of proteins, fats, nucleic acids, carbohydrates,” he said. “All of these things exist in living things, and plants are living. Animals are living. Now it’s just a matter of reconstructing things. You’re assembling them in a way that is similar to what animal meat is like in terms of density and structure and fiber.”

Beyond Meat has an assortment of products: Beyond Chicken strips, Beyond Beef crumbles and its newly introduced Beast Burger. The Beast Burger grills like the animal¿based hamburger patty it’s designed to replace but packs a bigger punch. The company says the Beast Burger has more protein than its beef counterpart (23 grams vs. 20) and “aids in muscle recovery. It is loaded with antioxidants, iron, B vitamins, calcium and omega-3. It’s the ultimate performance burger.”